National Poetry Month, Day #22

Whispers in Stone

The petroglyphs of Costa Rica

Petroglyph found in Quebradas, PZ, Costa Rica. Photo by Author

At the edge of the jungle, where vines reclaim what men forget, a stone lies dreaming in the dirt — its surface scored by ancient hands.

He carved by firelight, a shard of flint, a splintered bone, his breath slow, his mind sharp — a messenger with no name.

The lines do not speak in any tongue we know. They curl and loop like rivers, like snakes, or maps, or gods.

What was he trying to say? A prayer? A warning? A song? Was this his mark, his story, his “I was here”?

I trace the paths with reverent fingers, feeling echoes of a spirit long gone — yet not gone, still murmuring in stone.

The jungle may swallow his name, but not the mark he left behind. Stone remembers what we forget — and whispers it forward, line by line.

Petroglyph found near Dominicalito, Puntarenas, CR. Photo by Author

Author’s note: Just across my new property line in Alfombra, PZ, there’s a magnificent carved stone, covered in moss and vines. Carefully cleaing it will be one of my first happy chores once I settle there. These stones tell stories, and my number one bucket list item now is to learn as much as possible about the symbols, what they tell us, how and why they were made! Life must have been good back then, with folks having enough time and creative energy to carve these pieces. Will we ever understand them? This is my quest!

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